"Is it urgent?"

You're in a meeting with a client. Your cell phone rings. It's the office. It could be important. Then again, it could wait. The only way to find out is to answer the phone. Or is it? What if you could find out the urgency level without answering the phone?

Soon, you'll be able to do just that by using a service called Smart Call Options from SoloMio, a global telecommunications software company that is a Vignette spin-off.

Triggered by incoming calls, Smart Call Options lets the user ask the caller one of several key questions, such as "Is it urgent?" and "Can I call you right back?" The caller hears a voice response. For example, if the user selected "Is it urgent?" the voice response would say "Hi. Thanks for the call. Is it urgent? Press 1 for yes or 2 for no." The caller would press 1 and the user would see the updated response on his cell phone, at which time he could again respond from among a variety of choices, such as "Hold on" or "I'll call you right back."

"The mobile phone user is constantly reachable but not constantly available," says Richard Schwartz, CEO and president of SoloMio. "Smart Call Options gives the user more options when a call comes in."

The Smart Call Options service will be sold to telephone companies. The pricing plan for consumers is up to those telephone companies, but SoloMio's testing has indicated that it will probably be on a per-usage basis. "This way, telcos can deploy the service broadly," says Schwartz, adding that such plans achieve popularity much more quickly than other pricing options.

The initial rollout will be in Europe, where the cell-phone saturation base is almost 70 percent, versus the 50 percent base in the United States. That's not to say that SoloMio couldn't be deployed here today. The service is ready to goand the technology will work on today's 2G networks and with today's phones. So why the delay? Wireless providers have other fish to fry at the moment. The industry is on the verge of significant changes in capabilities, services, and ease of use.

Changes Come First
One of the biggest changes is the network. Today's second generation (2G) networks are called GSM (Global System for Mobile) or PCS (Personal Communications Services) networks. The wireless standard since 1990, GSM is based on circuit-switched technology, in which each call requires its own cell channel; this makes for slow data transmission. Today, many telcos are concentrating on launching so-called 2.5G networks, which are also called GSM/GPRS (General Packet Radio Services) networks. A packet-based service, GSM/GPRS sends data at a faster rate because transmission channels can be shared rather than tied up by one user at a time.

VoiceStream currently runs on a GSM/GPRS network, and its iStream service lets customers access their Microsoft Outlook and Lotus Notes e-mail messages. Cingular offers GSM/GPRS service in select areas around the country. AT&T is conducting trials of its GSM/GPRS service in major U.S. cities.

Then there's the "portable number" controversy. At the moment, changing providers means changing cell phone numbersand possibly an early-termination fee of up to $200. This monumental hassle has kept many subscribers locked into services that may or may not be meeting their needs.

But the FCC has mandated that all carriers allow customers to carry their old number with themwithin a certain geographical areaif and when they choose a new provider. However, the deadline for telcos meeting this mandate has already been extended two times. The current deadline for compliance is November 24, 2002but don't worry, the telcos have already filed for another extension, citing huge cost and infrastructure problems. Consumer advocacy groups are fighting for the mandate, saying that without number portability, competition is essentially nonexistent. The FCC is expected to decide on whether or not to extend the deadline within the next 30 days.

Schwartz still expects to see Smart Call Options available in the United States within the year as these issues play out. "When the saturation numbers rise to European levels and the number portability legislation passes in Congress, the telcos will need services to differentiate themselves," he says.

And that's when you'll finally be able to screen calls based on importance. Imagine that.

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